Book Review: The Pace by Shelena Shorts

SUMMARY (From amazon.com):

Weston Wilson is not immortal and he is of this world. But, aging is not part of his existence, and eighteen-year-old Sophie Slone is determined to find out why. In doing so, she could also uncover something about her own life expectancy that she may not want to know. Suddenly, immortality will mean everything and nothing all at the same time.

Intensely fascinating and rich with determination, The Pace brings together romance, mystery, and suspense in a compelling bond that is sure to have readers asking for more.


OPINION: 3 STARS

The truth about Weston is very interesting and incredibly unique. Even when I started to try piecing things together, I didn't realize what he was until more obvious evidence came to light- it is a very genius idea even if simple once you find it out. I can easily see how this story developed from that one single idea.

I admit, however, Sophie's character bothered me. I found her to be pretty immature considering she was 18 and even though she attended an online high school rather than a sit in a group of peers all day one, she still came off more as a 14 year old to me in my ways. She had a few shining moments but I found it hard to really get into her mindset. Her situation with her mom, however, definitely did give her character because though it is just the two of them, they sometimes seemed more like friends than family which had a nice effect. Her own involvement in everything seemed a little out of left field to me but I hope the reasons for that come out in future installments in this series.

Weston is your very mysterious boy, bordering on bad. He's sexy and secretive while holding wit and charm with it. He was very well developed and I really enjoyed his part of the story, from his interactions with Sophie to his past. Where Sophie fell short for me, Wes swooped in and saved it. The thought that went into everything about is very obvious- this was not a simple idea that ended up as a story. Shorts most definitely did her thinking and developing.

The plot is enjoyable though some parts seemed cliche and predictable. There are several twists and enough action to keep the reader interested but Sophie and Wes' relationship as well as the past was not ignored which is always great. I think that's one of the hardest things to write with a story like this- developing the background and characters while keeping enough plot and action for the reader to stay interested and Shorts did a great job with that.

I do have to admit, however, the writing did detract from the story for me. Considering it is first person of an 18 year old, I thought it was very basic. I often found myself not able to fall completely into the story beause of it- innumerable commas, sentences that started with So, (A personal pet peeve of mine, at least when there is a large amount of sentences like this) and a few other things that would have made my past English teachers cringe. I've been told I am too critical with writing but it does detract for me. That is the main reason I am putting this one at 3 stars. The idea and even most of the development is there- the writing didn't pull it through.

Overall, a decent debut built on a very unique idea- an idea that has me thinking and asking questions. The science nerd in me is going a little happy on it, actually, even if someone had to point out I was being way too analytical about it. Once I looked past that, I pretty much liked the idea even more.

Details:
Source: Purchased at amazon.com
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 312 pages
Publisher: Lands Atlantic Publishing, LLC (August 19, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0982500505
ISBN-13: 978-0982500507

Author's Website

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